Swedish Folk Songs

Suite

for horn quartet

Level: intermediate / advanced
Duration: 14'

1. Skaffare Polska 1. Skaffare Polska

2. Psalm From Alvdalsasen 2. Psalm From Alvdalsasen

3. Waltz From Siljansnas And Ratvik 3. Waltz From Siljansnas And Ratvik

4. I Watched In Secret 4. I Watched In Secret

5. Grandmothers Brodal Polska 5. Grandmothers Brodal Polska

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1. Skaffare Polska from Gotland

In the villages of the island of Gotland, this polka was often the first dance to be played in weddings. The ”skaffarna”, agents for families organizing the weddings, started the dancing part of the wedding feast with this melody. Florsen i Burs, who knew all the local folk tunes, was one of the most important musicians in his area. He was therefore very sought-after to play at weddings.

1. Skaffare Polska 1. Skaffare Polska

2. Psalm from Älvdalsåsen from Dalecarlia

“Psalm from Älvdalsåsen” has been sung with many variations by the wandering folk musician Blind-Olof from the area of Älvdalsåsen. He learned it from the master musician Bälter Erik Olsson. He then taught it to another folk musician, Kettis Lars Matsson. Alb. Lindberg (unidentified) finally wrote it down. It later became famous due to an organ arrangement by Oskar Lindberg, who renamed it “Gammal Fäbodpsalm” [Old Cattle Shed Psalm].

2. Psalm From Alvdalsasen 2. Psalm From Alvdalsasen

3. Waltz from Siljansnäs and Rättvik from Dalecarlia

The name Roligs Per [Fun Per] describes the folk musician’s character well: the fiddler was said to be always in a good mood, laughing and joking, and telling the most unbelievable stories, both true and imaginary, and specially children flocked to him. He sang and played violin, and made frequent trips to a neighbouring area with another fiddler, Siljansnäs-Anders. This waltz was probably in their repertoire, later notated as a version for three violins.

3. Waltz From Siljansnas And Ratvik 3. Waltz From Siljansnas And Ratvik

4. I Watched In Secret from Dalecarlia

There are many chorals notated according to Finn-Karin’s performances, a significant talent. The priests of Mora Church in Dalecarlia trusted her to be their leading singer already at a young age. She was said to have amazing skills in memorizing texts and melodies (the 1695 psalter did not include printed music), always singing with the finest phrasing and with rich and varied ornamentation. Psalm 381 according to the 1695 psalter ”Hemlig stod jag en morgon” describes an encounter between a young man and Death, which is secretly observed by the storyteller, who can but cry helplessly as he watches the young man die.

4. I Watched In Secret 4. I Watched In Secret

5. Grandmother’s Bridal Polska

Gyris Anders, a grand old man of the folk musicians of Älvsdalen in Dalecarlia worked not only as a fiddler, but also as a decorative painter. Grandmother’s Bridal Polska belongs to the grooviest of Swedish folk tunes and represents the so-called triplet polska.

5. Grandmothers Brodal Polska 5. Grandmothers Brodal Polska

Details

Composed: 2009
Genre: popular
Publisher: Editions Bim

The composer

Jukka Harju (*1975)

(born 1975, Kokkola) studied the French horn in Sibelius Academy under Kalervo Kulmala's guidance. He completed his studies in Vienna with Roland Berger. He also succesfully participated several competitions at a young age and represented Finland in the European Broadcasting Union's Young Soloists' Competition 1986 in Dublin, Ireland. He recently... Read more